Startups

Companies selected for the program will participate in a five-month program that involves an intensive product development focus.

The three-month program plans to accept 10 startups, each of which will be offered $120,000, along with mentorship and guidance; it starts in March 2016.

If the current trend persists, funding for wearable startups will be down sharply after the record-breaking 2014, according to CB Insights.

The partnership is looking to invest in and coach companies focused on virtual health platforms and next generation payment solutions.

At $15.8 million, the average deal size is the largest yet, although deal count is down 9% compared to last year (when looking at US deals over $2M).

A total of $4.7 billion has been raised from the start of the year; in comparison, Q3 2014 saw companies raising a comparable sum of $1.89 billion.

With these deals, CVS is looking to collaborate with the most advanced and capable organizations to develop future-looking healthcare solutions.

Called Velocity Health, the accelerator will offer startups $48,800 (32,000 GBP) in funding plus an additional $48,800 in other benefits.

The four-month long program will provide companies with mentorship, access to a leadership program, as well as $100,000 in up-front funding.

As part of the deal, Luminox will set up a fund for early-stage companies that will collaborate with Johns Hopkins' technology accelerator, FastForward.